The aim of the paper is to review the way of presenting Georgia and Georgians in the sources created by the Venetian diplomats or for their milieu in the period between 1573 and 1645, i. e. mainly in the reports and dispatches from missions in Constantinople and Aleppo. The analyzed texts contain relatively rich descriptions of ethnic and confessional reality of the Georgian lands. They mainly focus on political situation of the Georgian princedoms and their relations with bordering Muslim neighbours, including the course and effects of subsequent wars in the region. This focus is not surprising since the Georgians could be treated by the Venetian diplomacy as potential allies against the Ottoman Empire. It is of particular interest the frequently returning motive of a local ruler being secret Christian and formal Muslim, illustrating the perception of Georgia as a category sui generis on the map of politico-religious entities of the early modern world.

The aim of the paper is to review the way of presenting Georgia and Georgians in the sources created by the Venetian diplomats or for their milieu in the period between 1573 and 1645, i. e. mainly in the reports and dispatches from missions in Constantinople and Aleppo. The analyzed texts contain relatively rich descriptions of ethnic and confessional reality of the Georgian lands. They mainly focus on political situation of the Georgian princedoms and their relations with bordering Muslim neighbours, including the course and effects of subsequent wars in the region. This focus is not surprising since the Georgians could be treated by the Venetian diplomacy as potential allies against the Ottoman Empire. It is of particular interest the frequently returning motive of a local ruler being secret Christian and formal Muslim, illustrating the perception of Georgia as a category sui generis on the map of politico-religious entities of the early modern world.